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Hip-hop has been the primary influence on global popular culture for nearly a half-century, but on a local level, it can be hard to spot its impact with all the oxygen being taken up by our indie-rock and Americana scenes. A decade ago, that disconnect was even more extreme, according to Mac Smiff, writer, activist and co-founder of the monthly hip-hop showcase The Thesis.
“It was so underground that it was, in a way, invisible,” he says. “I recall people doing flyers that didn’t look like hip-hop-inspired flyers, making things look like jazz shows. Really trying to hide it from the mainstream for safety reasons. The city was dealing with an image issue and trying to figure things out, and hip-hop didn’t really fit in the brand model at the time.”
Add to it the increased police and security presence at even the smallest hip-hop shows, and it’s a wonder that the music has survived in this city. But thanks to the dedicated efforts of artists, DJs and promoters, the flame for the culture has remained lit. And no one is carrying that torch more boldly than Smiff and the team that puts on The Thesis every month.
The showcase has been a fixture of the concert calendar since 2014—initially held every first Thursday at Kelly’s Olympian before a recent move to Lollipop Shoppe—and features a well-curated selection of artists from the hip-hop community and adjacent genres like soul, reggae and R&B. Over the course of The Thesis’ 10-year tenure, that has included many of the brightest lights in the scene: elder statesmen Cool Nutz and Vursatyl, powerhouse vocalists Blossom and Karma Rivera, and, more recently, rhymers like Tinizeee and 2024 WW Best New Band winner Swiggle Mandela.
“I think it comes down to what me and Mac want to see, what we haven’t felt in a while, or if there’s some artist that we feel is emerging or dropping some big new project,” says Verbz, resident DJ and co-founder of The Thesis, of the duo’s booking ethos. “Our philosophy has always been about curation and puffing up these artists. I think doing that for four artists a month is really strong instead of going, ‘Hey, here are these 30 people. You might like five of them.’”
Another fateful decision Verbz and Smiff made early on was to make sure the lineups for The Thesis were as inclusive as possible. They insist on having at least one female artist on every bill, including shows where all the performers were women, and keeping the door wide open to LGBTQ+ rappers.
As word continues to spread about The Thesis, the event has been able to spin off into some delightful new avenues. In 2018, the showcase was held in both Portland and Seattle, with representatives from both cities performing. Verbz and Smiff have also held a handful of events on the Portland Spirit, filling the outside air with beats, rhymes and life as the ship made its slow cruise up and down the Willamette River.
“The first time we did that,” Verbz recalls, “I’m sitting on the boat getting ready as we’re waiting through the most boring dinner cruise that’s ever happened. And I don’t know what’s going to happen because there are chances no one will be waiting to get on. We pulled back up to shore and there was like 300 people waiting. That was one for the ages.”
For a monthly event to last as long as The Thesis has, it also helps to have people running the show who are as dedicated and nimble as Verbz and Smiff remain. The pair weathered the pandemic shutdowns by transitioning to hosting online versions of their event, and they managed not to lose any ground after they were forced to leave their longtime home at Kelly’s Olympian earlier this year. “Like I always say, The Thesis is wherever me and Mac throw it,” Verbz says.
As for the future of The Thesis, both men don’t waste much time fretting about it. Right now, their main concern is setting things in motion for their upcoming 10th anniversary bash in December. Details for that party are, understandably, under wraps, but they do promise it will be a mix of past performers, newcomers, and, Verbz says, “some wild cards that people aren’t expecting.”
“It’s kind of surreal,” Smiff says. “I wasn’t sure we’d make it here. There’s been a lot of things in hip-hop and in Portland over the last 10 years that to think back on where we started, it feels like a whole different life.”
GO: The Thesis at Lollipop Shoppe, 736 SE Grand Ave., 971-279-4409, thethesispdx.com. 9 pm every first Thursday. $15 in advance, $20 at the door. 21+.